By JUDY RATTNER
Last week Paterson proposed $5 billion worth of cuts to the state's budget that include immediate tuition hikes for city and state colleges and midyear slashes in state Medicaid reimbursement to hospitals and in state aid to public schools - measures that have been met with strong opposition from local legislators and school officials.
Under Paterson's plan, the Rockville Centre school district would lose 10 percent, or $779,772 of its previously budgeted state aid for this year, which would come to just under one percent of the district's 2008-2009 spending plan.
"We've been hearing from everyone that there were going to be no midyear cuts, then the governor put together a plan that included $800 million in midyear reductions to schools and essentially left all of the municipalities and counties untouched," said Dr. William Johnson, school superintendent. "I'm not sure why he focused on school aid but he did. It's not a reality yet, it's only a proposal. So there is still some uncertainty as to whether or not the legislature will agree to his plan. Hopefully the representatives from Long Island in both the Senate and the Assembly will work on our behalf to find a different way to cover the shortfall in the near term.
"We fully expect that next year's aid will be significantly reduced should this crisis continue, but we will at least have an opportunity to plan for it," Johnson said. "The governor has enough in the state reserve to cover this crisis but has chosen instead to tell schools to use their reserves to get us through the crisis.This is again another example of shifting the burden from the state to the local school districts to solve a state problem. Let me say it again: He has the money in his reserves to cover the shortfall this year but is choosing not to use it.
Johnson added, "The governor knows that reserves are not a proxy for revenue and can only be used temporarily and that reductions in expense or other revenue need to be found to replace whatever is used from the reserves.That's probably why he doesn't want to use his reserves to replace his revenue loss, but he's telling school districts that's what we should be doing. If it's wrong for the state, it should also be wrong for the school districts. He should be finding another way to solve the state's problems. He's dead wrong on this and this is not the way to do it. Hopefully our senatorial representatives from Long Island, who have always been the voice of reason and support, will again prevail."
Scott Reif, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said, "Senator Skelos has made it clear that we believe it's unfair to advance midyear education cuts because you're forcing school districts to scramble and it will have the effect of passing down costs and forcing local school districts to raise property taxes to make up for the shortfall."
In a statement released Friday, Skelos reasserted his opposition to Paterson's proposed midyear cuts to schools. "New York state is facing some tough financial times, but I have said for months that the Senate majority does not support midyear cuts in school aid. These cuts would force school districts to increase property taxes to cover the sudden loss of funds and our already over-burdened families simply cannot afford it," he said.
"Governor Paterson has not proposed anything creative to alleviate the current fiscal problem our state is in.While I certainly understand the magnitude of the state's current financial situation, we should be looking to create jobs and look for new sources of revenue to close the current budget deficit. The governor wants to hack away at our school district budgets and that's just not an acceptable approach."
Echoing Skelos' statement, Assemblyman Bob Barra (R-Lynbrook) stressed the need to cut taxes and create jobs in New York state. Barra called Paterson's proposal "a terrible move that will hurt our children and real property taxpayers. "I believe that the entire state budget should be scrapped, re-worked and re-tooled with more money flowing toward education aid in the form of high tax relief... We cannot mortgage our future - our children - and jettison people out of our state as taxes become too unaffordable and education suffers in the long run," Barra said.
Also reacting to the proposed midyear cuts, Board of Education President Mark Masin said, "First of all, this is the governor's proposal. It obviously has to undergo the scrutiny of the legislative process and this reduction plan has to be agreed on by both houses of the legislature.
"The board has already started looking into methods to reduce costs within the 2008-2009 school year budget," added Masin. "To offset the revenue setbacks in state aid, we've requested that the administration follow cost-saving measures: no additional staffing unless to meet a state or federal requirement; energy savings - lower the thermostats in all buildings, they've been lowered to 68 and we may go down lower; attempting to combine our transportation requirements; no new textbooks unless mandated by New York state; closing our buildings as much as possible over non-school hours to avoid additional overtime expenses and working with a consortium of school districts as well as the Village of Rockville Centre to provide common services at a lower cost. We'll take all steps necessary to preserve the core of our educational program while holding down the tax rate for our district."
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed no cuts of their own, although Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he supports Paterson. Republicans, despite strong support from the powerful New York State Teachers Union, which vehemently opposes education cuts, lost their 42-year majority rule in the Senate in the Nov. 4 election. But they still hold the majority until the next legislative session, and they are united in their opposition to Paterson's proposal.
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